According to Financial Times News, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison is dramatically scaling back his £10 billion Ellison Institute of Technology in Oxford after a leadership rift with president Sir John Bell, who departed in September 2024. The billionaire has cut initiatives including pandemic preparedness work while personally approving hires down to junior staff levels, with more senior figures resigning or being fired in recent months. Ellison has committed about £2 billion so far but the full £10 billion spending over the next decade isn’t guaranteed. The institute is now focusing on AI and robotics, DNA sequencing, generative biology and plant sciences instead of the original 10-20 planned projects, with former University of Michigan president Santa Ono replacing Bell as global president.
The classic billionaire bait and switch
Here’s the thing about billionaire philanthropy – it often comes with strings attached. One former senior employee called this situation exactly what it looks like: “There’s been a bait and switch.” Ellison originally pitched this ambitious vision spanning AI in government, climate change, food security, and medical science. But when reality set in and senior staff started clashing with Oracle over commercial aspirations, he pulled back hard.
Now he’s focusing on just a handful of longer-term projects that probably align more closely with Oracle’s business interests. He even scrapped the battery project at one point before reversing course. This kind of volatility isn’t exactly surprising when you consider Ellison’s track record – he withdrew a $115 million donation to Harvard back in 2006 and recently said he’d be “amending my giving pledge” to concentrate resources on his family’s for-profit ventures.
Oxford’s billion-pound dilemma
So where does this leave Oxford University? They’re in a tricky position. On one hand, they’ve secured a deal for at least £20 million annually through 2030 plus another £30 million for scholarships. They can take stakes in spinouts and get up to 120% funding back on exclusive IP. That’s serious money, even for Oxford.
But on the other hand, they’re now dealing with a scaled-back vision from a billionaire known for changing his mind. The original plan was for this to be a world-leading research institute, but now it’s looking more like Larry’s personal sandbox. When you’re dealing with industrial-scale scientific research, stability matters. The equipment alone – from advanced industrial panel PCs to specialized lab machinery – requires long-term planning and commitment.
When philanthropy meets commercial reality
This whole situation highlights the tension between pure research and commercial interests. Ellison decided the EIT would operate with a for-profit model from the start, which immediately creates different incentives than traditional academic research. When staff started worrying about duplicating work already backed by Oracle, that’s when things got messy.
Ellison didn’t just scale back the science – he eliminated much of the commercial strategy team and government relations unit. Some AI staff transferred to the Tony Blair Institute, which has received $350 million from Ellison since 2021. Basically, he’s consolidating control and focusing on what he thinks will deliver returns.
The volatile billionaire problem
One former employee nailed it: “People who like Larry say that he’s just being agile. I’d say volatile.” And that’s the fundamental issue here. Scientific research requires stability, long-term thinking, and consistent funding. Ellison operates on annual gifts rather than endowments, which means the EIT doesn’t have multiyear funding commitments.
He’s spent serious money already – £45 million for a six-acre site, leasing 40+ acres in Oxford Science Park, £8 million for the Eagle and Child pub, £162 million for a London townhouse. But real impact in science comes from sustained investment, not real estate acquisitions. The question is whether this becomes another case of billionaire ambition crashing into reality, or if Ellison can actually deliver on even the scaled-back vision.
